Every year I plant herbs on our deck and in the garden.   I love cooking with fresh herbs all summer long, but I have not done a very good job of preserving my herbs so I can use them in the winter.   This year I am determined to preserve some of my herbs for the winter months!

Today,  I am making pesto with my basil!   It is easy way to preserve your basil.  I found a reipe in the August/September 2012 Taste of Home magazine.  I ended up needing to decreasing the salt in this recipe.   It ended up being too salty for my liking.

I grow our basil in a window box sitting on the deck.  The best thing about herbs is even if you are an apartment dweller, you can grow basil on your deck/balcony or in your apartment.

My Pesto Experiment :

The Usual Suspects:  Basil, Olive Oil, Pine Nuts, Parmesan Cheese, Garlic, Salt and Pepper.

Equipment:  Food Processor, Salad Spinner

I washed the basil and dried it in my salad spinner.  Place Basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic cloves, salt and pepper into the food processor; pulse until choped.

Continue processing while gradually adding olive oil in a steady stream.

I only use real parmesan cheese – nothing out of a green can for me.  My pampered chef grater worked great to grate the parmensan cheese.

Add grated Parmesan Cheese; pulse to blend.

Classic Pesto Recipe  – A recipe from Taste of Home website

Classic Pesto Sauce Recipe – The recipe I used with the decreased salt amount included.

Place 2/3 cup loosely packed basil leaves, 2 TBSP pine nuts, 1 peeled garlic clove, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 pepper in a food processor’ pulse utnil chopped.  Continue processing while gradually adding 1/3 cup olive oil in a steady stream.  Add 1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese; pulse to blend.   Makes 1/2 cup.

I froze the pesto in 2 tablespoon amounts in ice cube trays for easy use.  Once frozen I will put them into a labeled ziplock bag.  

Look for future posts on how to preserve other herbs for use over the winter.    I have a feeling I will be making more pesto in the near future as I still have alot of basil left.

Happy Cooking!!